Huge Covid cases in US an honour: Trump

He says America has 15 lakh Covid cases which means more people being tested for disease

Washington, May 20: President Donald Trump has said it is a “badge of honour” for America to “lead” the world with 15 lakh confirmed Covid-19 cases since it means the US is testing more people for the disease that has killed over 326,000 people across the world. The US has 15 lakh confirmed Covid-19 cases and over 93,000 deaths, both the world’s highest.

“I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better,” he said on Tuesday at the White House as he hosted his first Cabinet meeting since the Covid-19 outbreak began. “By the way,” he told reporters, “you know when you say that we lead in cases, that’s because we have more testing than anybody else.” “So when we have a lot of cases,” he continued, “I don’t look at that as a bad thing, I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better.”

He added: “So I view it as a badge of honour. Really, it’s a badge of honour.” Trump was responding to a question about whether he was considering a travel ban on Latin America, Brazil in particular. “It’s a great tribute to the testing and all of the work that a lot of professionals have done,” the president said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, a federal agency, the US had conducted 126 lakh Covid-19 tests by Tuesday. The Democratic National Committee has criticised the Republican president’s comments, tweeting that the 15 lakh Covid-19 cases in the US represented “a complete failure of leadership”. Trump is seeking re-election in the November 3 presidential poll.

The president said he was considering travel ban on countries from Latin America due to surge in

Covid-19 cases there. “We are considering it,” the President said when asked if he was considering a travel ban on Latin America, and Brazil in particular. Brazil has over 271,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases, the third highest in the world, following the US and Russia. According to Johns Hopkins data, Russia has over 308,000 confirmed

Covid-19 cases.

— AFP Residents have coffee and drinks at a terrace on Wednesday in Codogno, southeast of Milan, one of the villages at the epicentre of the Covid-19 epidemic, as the country is easing its lockdown.